


bloom

by magearna



Series: college/soulmate au [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, POV Second Person, cameo by vernon, originally posted on AFF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 13:59:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6707050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magearna/pseuds/magearna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>originally posted on aff // college + soulmate au // in which you live in a world where everyone has a soulmate timer on their wrist, which keeps track of time from the moment you're born and only stops when you meet your soulmate. // and in which jisoo loses you twice and develops a newfound habit around you</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i'm really into soulmate/college aus at the moment so here we are. i was supposed to post this earlier but i kind...of...forgot..lol... a mingyu one was just uploaded on aff today (i'm aromatisse!) but i'll post it here tomorrow ^^

Spring brought numerous events for you: graduation from high school, admission into university, and moving out of home to live near school.

You were now a first year in your dream university, studying fine arts. Painting was your passion and to get into one of the top universities with a stellar fine arts program was a dream come true. During the first month of the spring semester, you adjusted to your new student life, learned new things, and met new friends.

The cherry blossoms were about to bloom and you still have yet to meet your soulmate.

In the world you lived in, everyone was born with a soulmate timer on their wrist. From the moment someone is born, it keeps track of time and only stops once they have met their soulmate. Everyone keeps telling you that university is the perfect setting to meet your soulmate – but it’s also a double-edged sword. There’s _so much_ people in your university that the prospects of finding your soulmate are narrow.

However, you try to maintain a positive mind as you enter your second month of the spring semester.

–

It’s well into the second month of school and you _still_ had trouble waking up early to be in your 8:30 sociology class on time. You had somehow convinced yourself that you were an early bird (a lie) and you could wake up at 7:30 to get ready and eat before class (also a lie) so you registered in that section to fulfill your humanities requirement.

Boy, did you ever regret that now. It was now 8:05 in the morning and you struggled to fit into your clothes as you scramble to stuff your belongings into your backpack. If you ran, you would probably still make it – but it won’t necessarily guarantee that you would be sitting at the front to be able to hear the lecture.

After locking up your apartment, you start your run to school.

 

You make it to your sociology class ten minutes late and you duck your head as you head to the rightmost wing of the class to the first empty seat you saw. You take your seat and quickly fish out your notebook and pen from your bag to write notes.

Unfortunately, it seemed like you missed important announcements during the ten minutes you were absent and you grumpily run a hand through your hair, annoyed at yourself for not getting up on time. This day was going terribly and it was only your first class out of three.

“She only answered people’s questions for the paper,” The boy to your right whispers and you turn your head in his direction. He gives you a soft smile. “You didn’t miss much. I’m Hong Jisoo, by the way.”

You blink, your voice caught in your throat when you notice how good-looking he was. He had dark hair parted to the side, smooth skin, cat-like eyes, and sharp nose. Being the art major you are, the first thing you think is “ _He’s like a sculpture brought to life_.”

“O-oh, thanks.” You manage to whisper back, feeling your cheeks become warm as you give him your name. You turn attention back to the lecture, mentally kicking yourself for not realizing that you were sitting beside the most good looking person you’ve ever seen on campus.

You take it back. Maybe this day wasn’t so bad after all.

–

Your sociology prof dismisses class five minutes after it’s supposed to be finished and you grumble as you stuff your things into your bag. You had five minutes to get to your art history class and you were _probably_ going to be late if you didn’t hurry. Once you had your backpack on your shoulders, you immediately bolt towards the exit.

“Ah, wait–“

In your rush to get to your next class, you didn’t hear Jisoo call out to you, who looked slightly disappointed as he watched you run out of the room.

 

You barely make it to art history on time and luckily, your friends Haeyoung and Hansol saved you a seat up at the front with them. Haeyoung and Hansol were soulmates and fellow first year fine arts students whom you met during the orientation for your faculty. Haeyoung focused on photography, while Hansol studied drawing (he called himself a postmodern artist). The three of you had required classes together, such as art history.

“You made it!” Haeyoung beams from your left as you slump into your seat.

“Barely,” you grumble, shrugging off your backpack and putting it on the floor. “I didn’t want to be late again since I was already late to sociology.”

Hansol shakes his head at you. “You need to wake up earlier, you know.”

You make a face at him. “I don’t want to hear that from _you_ of all people.”

“Hansol’s right,” Haeyoung grins cheekily. “You need to –“

Before Haeyoung could continue her cheeky comment, you take her face in your hands and squeeze her cheeks and she whines, grabbing your wrist to get you to let go. She gasps and looks up at you with surprise and you blink at her.

“What?”

“Your timer.” Haeyoung says and you give her a quizzical look.

“My what?”

“Your _timer_.” She repeats, wide-eyed. “ _Look at your soulmate timer right now_.”

Confused, you look down at your soulmate timer. It had stopped at 19 years, 11 months, 4 hours, 40 minutes, and 0 seconds. Your timer had stopped and you didn’t even realize.

“Oh my god.” You say. Haeyoung grabs you by the shoulder and shakes you, while Hansol’s face is contorted into an expression of shock.

“Who is it?!” Haeyoung asks excitedly. “ _Who is it?!_ ”

Before you could answer, your art history prof speaks into the microphone to signal the start of class. Haeyoung gives you another excited look as she turns her attention to the prof.

 

You tried hard to pay attention to the lecture but your eyes kept glancing down at your soulmate timer. Your mind keeps replaying what happened earlier, trying to recall if there was an opportunity for you to have met your soulmate. When you drop your pen and you bend down to reach for it, that’s when you realize.

 _Hong Jisoo_. The boy you were sitting beside with in sociology. You straighten up in your seat, looking down at your wrist for the nth time. The timer stopped at 4 hours and 40 minutes; if you remembered the last time you checked your timer correctly, it meant that it stopped at around 8:40 in the morning. You got to sociology and sat down beside him around that time.

 _It must be him_ , you thought, a warm fluttery feeling in your chest. But _oh_ – your next sociology class is on the day after tomorrow.

However, you can’t help but be cheerful and excited to see him again.

–

Once you finished your last class, which was drawing, you made your way to the library. You needed to work on your sociology paper that was due in two weeks. While that seemed like a lot of time, you were in fine arts, which meant that you almost always had art projects due every week.

You chose to write your paper on the topic of socialization and you already had the references you needed for your paper – except for one. It was a book and it was only available in the school library. You weave your way between the aisles of bookshelves, craning your head in hopes of finding the book.

You manage to find it, except you’re too short to reach the shelf. You sigh, taking off your backpack. If you stand on your tiptoes high enough, you might be able to reach it. With one hand on a shelf, you stand on your tiptoes and stretch your arm as much as you can. Unfortunately, your hand barely grazes the spine of the book.

Undeterred, you try again. And again. And again. You’re getting annoyed now and you scowl. You might as well get a chair at this point and you whirl around to find one, finding yourself face to face with Hong Jisoo. He has an amused look on his face, his eyes twinkling.

Your eyes widen and you feel your face turning red in embarrassment. “How long have you been standing there?” you whisper in panic. _He must've seen me trying to get the book!_

He smiles, obviously trying to hide his laughter. “A while now.”

You wish for the ground would open up and swallow you whole as Jisoo effortlessly grabs the book you’ve been trying to reach and hands it to you with a soft smile.

“Thanks,” you mumble shyly, taking the book and not quite wanting to meet his eyes.

“You’re welcome,” Jisoo replies and you can still hear the amusement in his voice. “Are you working on your sociology paper?”

You nod. “Yeah, mine’s on socialization.”

“Ah, really? Mine’s on social groups.”

Silence falls between the two of you, still standing in the aisle between bookshelves. Your mind’s frantically coming up with something to erase the silence between the two of you when Jisoo clears his throat.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but…has your… timer stopped by any chance…?” Jisoo asks softly and you look up at him; his look of amusement was gone, now replaced with one of nervousness.

“Yeah…” you respond shyly, showing him your stopped timer. “Mine stopped during sociology.”

“Mine did too.” Jisoo’s expression relaxes as he shows you his wrist – his timer stopped at 21 years, 4 months, 12 hours, 10 minutes, and 0 seconds. You feel a fluttery feeling in your chest as you look up at him.

“So…does this mean…”

“We’re...soulmates.” Jisoo finishes, smiling bashfully and his eyes twinkling.

You can’t help but smile back; his smile was infectious and cute. The two of you spend a good moment smiling, not quite meeting each other’s eyes in shyness.

 

Jisoo finally speaks up, rubbing the back of his neck. “If you don’t mind...can I take you out for coffee? I mean, it doesn’t have to be _right now_ , I’m ju–”

His cheeks flush red when you nod, looking up at him. “I just need to check out this book first before we go.”

Jisoo nods, smiling. The two of you walk downstairs to the main floor of the library to the checkout counter, softly talking as to not disturb the other students. As you pass by the wide windows, you notice that the cherry blossom trees on campus were finally in full bloom.

 

 _What a coincidence_.

 


	2. after

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> – in which jisoo loses you twice and develops a newfound habit around you

The first time Jisoo loses you is at the movies.

The two of you had gone to see a highly anticipated superhero film; it was a sight to see crowds of people lined up for the same title in the complex. Luckily for you, Jisoo had planned things accordingly so you would arrive early, get your snacks and drinks, and get nice seats. The movie goes well, both of you enjoy it, and generally have a good time overall.

The end of the showing was something Jisoo didn’t plan. 

The theatre you were in was fully sold out and a massive wave of people made their way to the exits once the lights turned back on and the end credits rolled. You and Jisoo get separated as a result due to the crowd, with the latter losing track of you due to your short stature. Fortunately you reconvene at the concession stands in the lobby five minutes later, with Jisoo running up to you once he finally sees you.

Worry is evident in Jisoo’s eyes as he nears. “Are you alright?” He manages to ask, still trying to catch his breath. “Are you hurt anywhere?"

It sinks in that he was frantically running around trying to find you and you feel your heart lodged in your throat. “Y-yeah,” you answer, smiling softly. “I’m fine.”

His tense shoulders drop and relief washes over his features. “Thank goodness,” he murmurs. “I’m so sorry.”

You stare up at him curiously. “Jisoo, for what?”

“I should’ve kept you in my line of sight when we were leaving, I should’ve been more careful –”

“It’s okay, it happens,” you assure with a gentle voice. “I’ve lost my friends whenever we leave the movies every time.”

Jisoo bites his lip. “I know…but you’re my soulmate…I really should’ve been more careful because I could’ve lost you.”

Your cheeks flush at his words and you become shy. It seemed that he was worried that he was going to lose you again despite finding one another and your soulmate timers on your wrists permanently frozen. It was as if Jisoo thought that you would have to go through the cycle of finding one another again and he was worried he wouldn’t be able to find you once more.

You reach out and take your hand in his, giving it a warm squeeze while smiling up at him. “You won’t lose me. I promise.”

 

–

 

The second time Jisoo loses you is at the art gallery.

You had asked him if he wanted to come with you to an exhibition the art gallery was hosting. A famous Western painter’s works were to be displayed for a limited time and you _really_ wanted to go; you wanted to see those paintings you admired from your textbooks in real life. Haeyoung and Hansol already had plans to go together and you didn’t want to intrude, while your other friends weren’t too keen on going to art galleries.

And so, you asked your soulmate.

Jisoo was generally easy-going and open-minded, making him the most ideal person to go with despite him not being a fine arts student. He immediately said yes when you offered and on the agreed-upon date and time, you took the subway to the city together.

Despite being an early summer weekday, the art gallery is busy with many tourists, students, and individuals enjoying their day off. The line to buy tickets is quite long but moves quickly and you glance around.

“Wow, it gets even longer behind us,” you comment. You had suggested arriving by the gallery’s opening time and even though you were early, the line was already an incredible length. If you had to guess, you and Jisoo were the fifteenth in the ticket line.

Jisoo scans the area. “Hm…do you think they’re all here for the same exhibit?”

“Maybe, probably? There are a lot of exhibits going on at the same time too.”

The ticket line continues to move at a steady pace and a few moments later, you and Jisoo make your way to the exhibit area with your tickets in hand. The security guard at the main hall where the paintings are displayed scan your tickets, mentions the “no photography” rule, and waves you in.

As expected, majority of the attendees are present for the painter’s exhibit; there are couples and individuals eyeing the paintings and the minimalist white panels with black text outlining their descriptions. Several students are attending as well, you can tell based on their wide-eyed eagerness to learn and inspire themselves – after all, you’re one of them too. You’re about to head to the leftmost corner to the first painting when you feel a tug on your hand.

Jisoo’s cheeks flush red as you both look down. His hand had wrapped around yours, almost protectively. You gape at him, your own cheeks turning pink. “Jisoo…?” 

“S-sorry,” he stammers. “I-it’s just that…I’m worried about losing you in this crowd.”

“O-oh,” was all you could muster. Despite being soulmates, the two of you were still very new at this soulmate thing. New at _everything_. While everyone immediately knew what to do and how to act around their fated half, you and Jisoo fumbled around, unsure about what to do. 

Since his hand was holding onto yours, you do what seemed like the most logical action at that moment.

Your fingers intertwine with his, pulling him along with you as you head to the direction of the first painting. You don’t notice the red spreading through Jisoo’s cheeks, nor hear the startled sound he makes. What you do notice, though, is how warm and gentle his hand is, how your hand fits perfectly with his, and the subtle squeeze he gives your hand as you navigate the exhibit together.

The two of you don’t say anything much about the skinship, choosing to distract one another by focusing on the works hung on the pristine white walls and reading the descriptive panels. Jisoo asks questions about some of the mediums used, stories, and descriptions of the works since you’ve studied this in class before. You try to answer in a way that’s easy for him to understand since he’s not in your program after all, and he seems satisfied with your explanations. Once you’ve analyzed the paintings in the main room, you head to the eastern chamber with black walls where the artist’s sketches and drafts are displayed.

“There’s so much people,” comments Jisoo from your right. You take a cursory glance in the gallery; there are more attendees present now despite people coming and going to the different areas of the exhibit. More often than not there’s someone stopped in the middle of the space with others passing by you. You unlink hands with Jisoo to let a group of middle-aged tourists speaking English behind you pass through the narrow walkway created by a family struggling to sit their child in her stroller.

You’re about to reunite with Jisoo again when you find your line of sight blocked by a throng of families, couples, students of varying age groups, and individual attendees passing by. The incredible amount of people renders you impossible to see, especially with your short stature, ultimately separating you from Jisoo. You feel worry bubbling in your chest and decide to make your way to the far right corner of the black-walled area, dodging other visitors as you send off a text to your soulmate on your whereabouts.

You clutch your phone in your hand after sending the message, standing off to the corner as to not get in the way of others when you hear his voice calling out your name. Jisoo takes long strides as he walks over to you, brows furrowed and shoulders tense. The familiar expression reminds you of what happened at the movies and you feel a pang of guilt. 

_You promised him that he wouldn’t lose you._

Jisoo extends his hand out to you and you take it, linking your fingers together once again and your thumb gently brushing against his skin. “Are you okay?” He asks, worry evident in his eyes.

You nod. “I’m fine,” you answer. “Just a lot of people here today.”

He clasps your hand in his, tender and reassuring. “I know. Let’s be careful.”

 

The remainder of the trip at the art gallery goes well but Jisoo keeps you close, hand holding on to yours. The gesture feels protective and assuring; it makes your heart race faster and you have a passing thought if it has the same effect on him too.

 

–

 

The incidents at the movies and at the art gallery make Jisoo weary from then on. Whenever you go out together, especially at populous locations, he always extends his hand out to you and you always take it. Handholding eventually becomes a habit, automatic, something that’s become normal between the two of you.

The two of you don’t really say much about it though. But Jisoo’s reddening ears every time your hands make contact speaks more than words.

 

–

 

It’s a sunny Saturday summer noon and you towel dry your hair with one hand, the other scrolling through the messages you missed on your phone. You spent the whole morning cleaning, showering after as a reward for your hard work. A notification appears on the top of your phone and you open the newly arrived text message from Jisoo.

> **From: Jisoo**
> 
> _Hey ^^_
> 
> _Are you busy right now?_

 

> **From: You**
> 
> _Hiya^^_
> 
> _Not really, I just finished doing chores_
> 
> _What’s up?_

 

> **From: Jisoo**
> 
> _Do you want to come to the bookstore with me? I’ll buy you coffee from Carat Café after ^^_

 

You hum before you type out an answer. You finished all of your work yesterday and you only had one short chapter to read for a class. It was a nice day out – it wouldn’t hurt to go out, right?

Plus he offered to buy you free coffee.

 

> **From: You**
> 
> _Sure! What time should we meet?_

 

Jisoo meets you at the front doors of your apartment, smiling once he sees you. He’s dressed in a light-blue button down shirt tucked into a pair of slim black pants and his hair’s parted to the side to frame his features. “Hi,” he greets when you approach closer.

“Hi,” you answer with a smile. “Shall we go?”

You fall into step with him, catching up what’s been happening in each other’s lives. It had been almost two weeks since you last saw one another, when he invited you to come over for dinner at the boarding house for Wonwoo’s birthday. Since then, you’ve been busy with a summer class and helping a grad student as their assistant. On the other hand, Jisoo’s been busy working as a tutor for high school students preparing for upcoming entrance exams. While you constantly talked on chat and on call, seeing him again in person was definitely different and you don’t deny that his presence so close to you makes your heart flutter.

Especially since his hand somehow found yours and was holding on to it.

A few doors down from Carat Café is a local bookstore called Prose and Cons, a modern tall structure mostly white with a touch of beige. The first floor hosted used books, while the second floor hosted newer releases. A bell above the door tinkles to signal your arrival and the shopkeeper behind the register smiles.

“Welcome,” he greets and you and Jisoo murmur your greetings in return.

Jisoo gives your hand a squeeze as he leads the way to the second-hand books, scanning the dividers to find the section he needed. You stop at a section full of art-related books and you look up at him curiously. “Jisoo?”

“Hmm?”

“What book are you looking for?”

He doesn’t quite meet your eyes as he answers. “O-oh… remember when we were at the art gallery? They were selling books of the painter’s works and biography but it was expensive so I thought they would have it here.”

A smile breaks out across your face. “Oh, did you like it?”

His ears are visibly red as he continues. “Y-yeah…. I thought it was really nice – the paintings and reading about them and about the artist and stuff…” 

You try not to giggle. Jisoo was unbelievably _cute_. It was cute that he enjoyed the exhibit at the art gallery to the point that he wanted to keep learning about it on his own. But it was also heart-warming; Jisoo was always so keen about learning about your field and your likes and how he was always eager to come along with you whenever you asked him to. His attentiveness was incredibly endearing and you feel thankful that you were blessed with a soulmate who was so kind and thoughtful.

“Well, she has a few books,” you inform as you scan the shelves beside him. “The famous one is _Explorations_ and it’s collection of her art and sketches and the stories about them. The biography the gallery was selling for a ridiculous price is called _Searching_. That one’s actually a few years old so I’m pretty sure you can find it for a cheaper price now.”

The next few minutes are spent skimming through spines of different art-related texts, trying to find the books you named. You unlink fingers with his to split up; you heading to the leftmost shelves while Jisoo continues to search through the right side. Your hand feels lighter and bare, and you shake off the feeling while you intently read the labels. At the top of the third leftmost shelf is a familiar spine of _Explorations_ and you turn to your soulmate excitedly.

“Jisoo! I found a copy!” You announce. You stand on your tiptoes, one hand on the edge of a shelf to give yourself leverage while trying to reach for the book. You try to extend yourself as high as you could, only to freeze in your spot. Jisoo’s behind you, arm deftly reaching for the volume and plucking it out of its placement amongst other books.

You whirl around, staring at him. There’s a playful smile tugging on his lips as he gazes down at you with the book in his hand.

“You’re so short,” he comments teasingly.

A scowl appears on your face and you hit him on the arm lightly. “Don’t be mean,” you huff and Jisoo chuckles. 

Unfortunately the other text isn’t available, even when you searched in the area with new books. However Jisoo seems satisfied with the copy you found and he pays for it before you depart Prose and Cons.

There’s a cool, refreshing breeze once the two of you step out into the sunny afternoon and head to the direction of Carat Café. As you idly chat about the bookstore, Jisoo’s bigger hand gently brushes against yours before clasping it in his. What was once something that he shyly executed was now more confident and you bite back a smile, giving his hand a squeeze.

The two of you come to a stop at the intersection, waiting for the crossing lights to activate. Something feels odd and you take a quick glance around: it wasn’t too crowded out – there were people out and about to enjoy the weather but it wasn’t as though you were going to be separated from him. You look down at your linked hands, trying to reason what was happening. You and Jisoo held hands whenever it was busy and crowded and there was a risk of separation, especially with your short stature.

But even when you were walking to the bookstore, there weren’t a lot of people.  

You lift up your gaze to stare at him and the crossing lights signal your right to cross. Jisoo glances down at you, curious as you continue to stare at him.

“What’s wrong?” He asks as you safely cross the street.

“Jisoo,” you start. “You must _really_ like holding my hand, don’t you?”

Jisoo blinks, not quite sure and you glance down at both of your hands. He looks down as well and in no time, there’s a visible flush making its way to his cheeks and ears. “O-oh…u-um, I can e-explain –”

You hum, somewhat playful. “Mmhmm…”

“N-no, really, I –”

You hold down a smile at his flustered reaction and you clutch his hand tighter. “It’s okay,” you assure. “I like holding your hand too.”

The blush across Jisoo’s cheeks turns a more vibrant color and you giggle behind your free hand, your own cheeks pink.

As you continue on your way to the café, Jisoo gives your hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze as his thumb gently brushes against your skin. You can’t help the smile appearing on your face as a response to the contact.

 

You and Jisoo may still be new at being soulmates and still fumble around, but maybe holding hands was a habit the two of you have gotten better at.


End file.
